Topic: Beauty for Ashes

Writing those words even now feels like a fresh wound. They were words I overheard spoken by a girl with whom I attended high school and with whom I had previously been best friends. She uttered them to a mutual friend of ours not knowing I was just a few steps away and could overhear. Only, that evening, I didn’t just overhear them. The moment those words crossed her lips I took ownership of them, put them on and wore them as my identity. The truth is, they were just one more...

Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things, For you died and your life is now hidden in Christ. When Christ appears, you will also appear with him in glory. -Colossians 3:2-4

On March 16, 2016 on a Wednesday morning, I was delivered from the dark depth idol of myself, diets and my relationship with food. I would have told you every singe day of my life before that day, that I always would struggle with ad have an "addiction" to food and never be good enough to conquer it. I believe...

It is difficult to start a story, when you are not sure yourself when it really began. Just as I am unable to remember the date and time of my coming to Christ as a young child, so I am equally lost as to a specific date that I started down the road of bulimia.

I wish my story were as “clean cut” as, “I struggled with bulimia, and then when I became a Christian, I finally had victory.” But as I battled my own unique story with bulimia, I found myself wondering if the story I was living could...

In October 2001 I was 7 months pregnant with our first child. I needed to take our 125lb dog outside for his daily potty break and since our yard wasn’t fenced, I put him on a leash to go outside. While walking him I was pulled forward on the cement when the dog saw a squirrel. I landed on both knees and this caused my kneecaps to be pushed out from their natural center position. About 4 years later, I had arthroscopy to re-align my right knee cap. The problem...

I made that agreement with the Enemy early in my childhood, very early, I would guess as a toddler, maybe younger. Ashes.

The agreements, that is, the lies the Enemy tells us that we receive as truth have a tremendous impact on our lives. I’d suggest more of an impact than most of really understand. Lies are like seeds planted in our minds. The seed is either dug up immediately in which case it can’t propagate or produce fruit.Or, it’s...

I honestly can’t remember a time in my life that I wasn’t worried about body image or food choices. I learned from an early age what food was good and what food was bad. If you did eat the “bad” food, there were always comments and guilt to follow. I developed very compulsive behavior around food at an early age. I would hide food in my closet, binge and then feel so much guilt. I never had a healthy relationship with food. After moving out on my own and being free to do my own grocery...

I grew up in the south eating southern food the southern way. Both sides of my family have weight issues, so I assumed early on that the same would be true for me. I remember writing in my elementary school diary how I wished I could be a normal weight. No one ever taught me how to eat healthy or incorporate physical fitness in my day to day life. For all I knew, eating healthy meant adding more vegetables to your casserole or an apple to your daily routine! After getting married (great...

My story, my testimony really, began many years ago before I formed a relationship with Jesus. I was blind to faith and trying to will my way through the turbulent waters of life on my own. Every setback, failure, or struggle, I viewed as my own oversight, never once realizing that by relinquishing control to God I could finally begin to understand my path, see the fruit of my labor, and most importantly realize that I don’t have to go on this journey alone!

I Need to be healthier. Smarter choices. No more fast food. No one really notices.

I Need to be thinner.Obsessive calorie counting. More time at the gym. Getting lots of compliments now.

I Need to be the skinniest girl in the room. Dangerous restriction. Join a second gym so no one knows how much I am working out. Girls are begging for my secrets, and guys that have never paid attention to me are vying for my attention.

Why am I still so fat? Skipping days between eating – no meals, just an...

Hello! My name is Courtney and I’m so honored to get to share my transformation story with you all.

I have been obese (morbidly so, as much as that word makes me wince) all of my adult life. It all started in 2003 when I found myself gaining weight rapidly despite making no changes to my diet and exercise routine ( I was a High School junior and active basketball player and cheerleader). I was quickly diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and was told to expect some “mild” weight gain....